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Rapture is a five-map episode in a style
unrightfully hijacked from Daikatana and Hexen
along with their intellectual property. :X
To win, you must collect four runes and defeat
four barons. There are also two start maps
and two end maps which help move an interesting
plotline. |
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is a well-connected series of beautiful
and imposing grey and blue castles amongst
realistic rocks. Everything is built to
an impressively large scale. Details such
as broken windows, scattered bricks, warped
wooden beams, and subtly emulated sunlight
(in one area) all give it a realistic feel.
Almost every area has something to look
at.
Combat progresses fairly, beginning with
single enemies and sniping practice but
quickly heating up once you enter the buildings
and take on well-defended positions. Most
of the new enemies appear first in this
map. They include gremlins, axemen, and
toughened knights with better armor. Someone
forgot to skin the knight's severed head.
There were a few minor combat-related problems.
If you enter the line of sight of the basement
full of zombies (an otherwise entertaining
area) while pressing a certain switch, they
try to block off the grenade launcher. Also,
the mildly exciting arena combat at the
end is made easy by an obvious secret inaccurately
marked "hard." =)
Rain Palisade - Final is a tiny map in
which you mow through a few monsters and
take on the first baron in a circular arena
with an annoying flashy light. The baron
himself is an appropriate first boss - entertaining
and not overly challenging. When fighting
him, you may get to witness how the coder
never finished client.qc - there is no message
when he kills you.
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is more visually complex than the first
maps, with bright wood and purple metal
textures trimming stone walls. It's a great-looking
map all around. However, it is rather cramped
and all areas are generally smaller. It
seems somewhat haphazard with open doors
sliding through solid walls and one area
of HOM. The map also features lava dripping
from pipes in the wall which should have
been animated.
Progression is still reasonable and enjoyable
with several surprises involving strategically
placed ogres and one area where a few sparse
reinforcements lure you into a false sense
of security... This level also contains
the fire baron who, aside from the fact
that you fight him in a much smaller and
more dangerous area, isn't much more threatening
than the first baron. The baron himself
is preceded by another surprise. |
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is another solid medieval map, but in a more
chaotic vein than the preceding levels, being
cobbled together from various rocks and wood
panels. It has all the hallmarks of [Kona]'s
twisted style: lots of weird angles and intersections,
heavy and impeccable use of trim, and reliance
on unusual brushwork for effect rather than
careful use of detailed textures. The lack
of traditional "setpieces" can seem
a little dull this far into the episode.
This map also marks a tremendous increase
in difficulty, with gang after unsubtle gang
of well-placed monsters and hardly any health
throughout the map, inviting a much more cautious
approach. At the end of this map lies the
first baron with a truly formidable attack.
Take care to avoid it. |
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is the final map and, stylistically, it's
something of a downer. It's a symmetrical
deathmatch arena, lifts travel through the
floor, and the lighting, most of which seems
to come from sporadic lightning, is just silly.
[note: strangely enough, the odd flashing
lights only appear in software mode. In GLQuake,
the lighting was functional.]
This map clearly wasn't made for looks, though.
It was made to hold the hordes of monsters
which surge into the arena in a DMSP-style
infestation. It is sometimes difficult to
tell what to do next, especially with grenades
landing all around, but large caches of ammo,
armor, and health (plus the mjolnir if you
use it wisely) even the playing field somewhat
while searching for a route.
The only real trouble comes at the very end,
in which you face the final baron, who seems
fond of stupid hitscan attacks. He can be
very difficult to defeat, especially if you're
weakened by the preceding massacre. Compounding
this is the fact that he initially appears
in an area where it can be very difficult
to run away without taking damage. There should
have been health and armor just before the
encounter, but it's still possible to win
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